Jakob Horvat
Only three and a half liters of diesel per 100 kilometers - no longer a car that is approved in the year 2020, still consume. The EU set this in a regulation in 2009 with the aim of further reducing CO2 emissions. That puts the automakers under increasing pressure. The future perspective is: e-mobility. Those who pursue sustainable strategies push them forward and secure a place in the future market. The Federal Environment Agency has analyzed the needs of users, compared them with the current state of development and derived a scenario from them. Günther Lichtblau is head of the "Traffic and Noise" department and has a prognosis ready: "According to our analyzes, which we conducted five years ago, e-mobility will see its breakthrough in 2017. That will also come from today's perspective. "Three aspects are crucial for this. The charging infrastructure, the battery technology and the price.
The price as the main argument
The federal government wants 2020 electric cars to be on the roads of Austria by the year 200.000. That would be just under five percent of the total, but at least twenty times as many as today. To promote the e-mobility, must be turned on the price screw. For as many advantages an electric car has, a customer will only buy it if he can afford it. So far, the e-car buyer saves the standard consumption tax. In addition, e-cars are tax-deductible for entrepreneurs and subject-free. For commercial vehicles, there is also a purchase premium of up to 4000 Euro. Soon it will also be available nationwide for private vehicles, until now there are only state subsidies that vary from state to state. At the latest then should also vote the price argument, as Günther Lichtblau of the Federal Environment Agency explains: "We see that buyers are quite willing to spend a little more for an e-vehicle, because it is much cheaper in the condition of a combustor. Currently it is still like this: If you drive more than 20.000 kilometers per year, the e-car will already be cheaper. A value that will gradually decrease when demand exceeds a critical point. "
Prototype: Norway
In Norway, what is happening in Austria is happening. Already 23 percent of the newly registered vehicles in the year 2015 were electric cars. In Austria, there are two percent. "In Norway, there are massive tax benefits," says Günther Lichtblau, "E-vehicles have become incredibly attractive in terms of price. There are no taxes on an e-car. In addition, e-car owners in the city can park for free and use the bus lane. Also in Austria we would approve further tax concessions, in the bus lanes I am, however, skeptical. For what if once so many vehicles are on the road that the bus lanes are permanently blocked? Then you have to reverse this and that causes displeasure. "The Ministry of Transport is already working on a further action plan. Politicians are fundamentally in agreement that e-mobility is the future concept that needs to be promoted. Jürgen Talasz of the Association of Electromobility in Austria sees in the funding efforts a key goal: "If I equalize the difference in purchase price between a petrol and an electric car by subsidies, then I'm ready as a customer to buy." Central argument against an electric vehicle was for customers so far the range. But here too much has happened. Most vehicles currently make between 150 and 400 kilometers. In the premium class at Audi and Tesla you drive already over 500 kilometers with a battery charge. More important than the range is the ability to charge your battery in as many places as possible.
In 30 minutes to the full battery
The charging infrastructure and the now 2.282 charging stations in the country are largely handled by the nine state energy providers, the electric car manufacturer Tesla and Smatrics, which has been working on a nationwide network of charging stations for electric cars since 2013 and is already well advanced, such as managing directors Michael-Viktor Fischer explains: "We have divided the whole country into circles with a radius of 30 kilometers. In each of these circles is now a charging station, that is, at least every 60 kilometers. In total, there are 400 of such charging points. Around half of these are high-speed charging stations that can charge an e-car battery in just under half an hour. We are already working on the next generation, in the next few years a car should be able to be fully charged in ten minutes. "
Refueling should work differently in the future than today. "Refueling by the way" Fischer calls this paradigm shift: "I load wherever I park the car anyway. We already cooperate with Ikea, Apcoa, McDonalds, Mercury and some others. On average, the Austrian drives 36 kilometers by car every day, the rest of the time it is. Time enough to load it. "
Fill up with a map everywhere
The Association for Electromobility in Austria (BEÖ) coordinates the development of technology, promotes joint strategies and has set itself a goal that will ultimately be decisive for the consumer: the development of e-roaming, as Board Member Jürgen Halasz explains: "Goal is to be able to load your vehicle throughout Austria with a map or an app, completely independent of the electricity provider you have your contract with. Only then will the entire charging process become practicable for the end-user, comparable to the elimination of ATMs, independent of the financial institution. The challenge is to network the systems, which is very costly. But we got a subsidy here and estimate that the interoperable store will be ready by the middle of next year and will work all over Austria. That's what the customers are asking for and we can not afford to spend any time there. "
The 200.000 e-vehicles in Austria to 2020 Jürgen Halasz for something measured, but: "The Federal Environment Agency expects 144.000 vehicles, that's possible. But now everybody has to pull together. Once the critical point is crossed, it will suddenly happen. I expect that at the latest 2025. "A vision that promises much. Of this, now only the drivers need to be convinced.
Costs & funding
Basically, the rule is that around 50 percent of vehicle costs is the battery. And with high pressure on better technologies and higher sales, it is expected that prices will continue to fall. Currently, an electric car costs much more than a gas burner.
Costs for battery charging - A calculation example: Let's assume that an electric car needs 100 kilowatt hours for the range of 15 kilometers. If you load at home, the conventional electricity prices, depending on the provider. We calculate with 18ct per kilowatt hour. Makes a total of 2,70 Euro per hundred kilometers.
Funding - The Federal Government is currently working on a new package of measures to promote e-mobility. At present, the standard fuel consumption tax does not apply to the purchase of electric vehicles. Purchase premiums for private users exist since 2017 nationwide, so far there are only in some federal states. For commercial users, the purchase premium is already standard. When purchasing electric cars for commercial use, entrepreneurs also benefit from the input tax deduction and the exemption in kind. A complete overview of the currently valid subsidies depending on the federal state offers the page www.austrian-mobile-power.at.
Photo / Video: Shutterstock.
